Pill popper worked fine

I microwaved a bit of Hi Tor for 15 seconds (to warm it up from the fridge) and fed it to Sasha who (to my relief) ate it. The Zeniquin must be given with food, so with Sasha's fledgling appetite, I'm happy he ate the 1/2 -1/4 teaspoonful I served him.

Popped the antibiotic with no problems, now I'm keeping my eyes peeled for side effects...Zeniquin can cause (in rare cases) vomiting, diarrhea (bad for a cat struggling with dehydration) or seizures...so far so good he's just napping.

Of course if any side effects occur, discontinue usage and call the Clinic asap...

Knocking on wood that the Zeniquin will clear Sasha's Cystitis (if not his cold) so all I have to worry about is his CRF...

Is it a big pill? Because if not, the way I give pills to Gracie, is I take a Purina Whisker Lickin's Treat (soft) flatten it on the palm of my hand, put the pill inside, and close it/mold it over the pill - sort of an improvised pill pocket, but it never, ever fails.... It is just one of those treats that cats beeeeegs for...
Unfortunately Bugsy is allergic to everything, so I can't give meds to him this way - with him I use the pill pocket.
Just an idea for stress free meds...

Originally Posted by Lucky Luke

I microwaved a bit of Hi Tor for 15 seconds (to warm it up from the fridge) and fed it to Sasha who (to my relief) ate it. The Zeniquin must be given with food, so with Sasha's fledgling appetite, I'm happy he ate the 1/2 -1/4 teaspoonful I served him.

Popped the antibiotic with no problems, now I'm keeping my eyes peeled for side effects...Zeniquin can cause (in rare cases) vomiting, diarrhea (bad for a cat struggling with dehydration) or seizures...so far so good he's just napping.

Of course if any side effects occur, discontinue usage and call the Clinic asap...

Knocking on wood that the Zeniquin will clear Sasha's Cystitis (if not his cold) so all I have to worry about is his CRF...

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I never heard about this antibiotic before, I hope it helps... One thing I read about it, is that it can decrease appetite... I hope it doesn't happen... How long is he going to stay on, 10 days?
Poor baby, and poor you... You both are going through some ride right now... Sounds like you do have a proactive vet taking care of Sasha now, so that's excellent!
I'll be thinking about you both...

Originally Posted by Carolina

I never heard about this antibiotic before, I hope it helps... One thing I read about it, is that it can decrease appetite... I hope it doesn't happen... How long is he going to stay on, 10 days?
Poor baby, and poor you... You both are going through some ride right now... Sounds like you do have a proactive vet taking care of Sasha now, so that's excellent!
I'll be thinking about you both...

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Thanks! So far so good: no vomiting, no runs and no seizures. The label doesn't say how long: just "until finished" Overnight, as I went to the bathroom I saw Sasha crunching on his K/D kibble (and I thought I hated that food?). His appetite this morning wasn't all that great...to be fair it never is. I'll show him his food again 11-ish (am) and he'll probably have some.

Still peeing the floor mind you...and it is becoming annoying...then again he's only been on the antibiotic one day. My hope (and it might just be wishful thinking) is that he'll pee in the litter box as soon as the Cystitis has cleared.

Zenequin is the same as Baytril (different manufacturers) but for some reason Z has less side effects than B (it must be the additives coat the stomach better). Our Tubi does not tolerate Amoxi anymore (major throwing up from it) so when he needed a broad spectrum antibiotic he took Z. Hopefully Sasha will be fine; side effects show up in the first 2 days or so...Here is for Sasha...

Originally Posted by LoveWhiskers

Zenequin is the same as Baytril (different manufacturers) but for some reason Z has less side effects than B (it must be the additives coat the stomach better). Our Tubi does not tolerate Amoxi anymore (major throwing up from it) so when he needed a broad spectrum antibiotic he took Z. Hopefully Sasha will be fine; side effects show up in the first 2 days or so...Here is for Sasha...

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Well, this is the 3rd Zenequin I give him and still no vomiting or runs so that's a good sign...the watery eyes have stopped since yesterday (mind you I haven't discontinued the eye ointment) though I've noticed a very wet nose and what I thought was drool on his chin is (I think) clear mucus from his nose...poor Sasha... no wonder his appetite's in the dumpster these days!

Oh, BTW, I just ordered a cat restraint bag from ebay...Sasha's just too squirmy when I give him fluids, the needle slips out pretty much every time and he struggles too much...

I forget who it was who suggested the pill popper and cat restraint bag, but thanks! Hopefully the restraint bag will make the sub q treatments easier with less slip-outs..the fluids are of no use to Sasha if they don't get into him!

Originally Posted by Lucky Luke

Well, this is the 3rd Zenequin I give him and still no vomiting or runs so that's a good sign...the watery eyes have stopped since yesterday (mind you I haven't discontinued the eye ointment) though I've noticed a very wet nose and what I though was drool on his chin is (I think) clear mucus from his nose...poor Sasha...

no wonder his appetite's in the dumpster these days!

Oh, BTW, I just ordered a cat restraint bag from ebay...Sasha's just too squirmy when I give him fluids, the needle slips out pretty much every time and he struggles too much...

I forget who it was who suggested the pill popper and cat restraint bag, but thanks! Hopefully the restraint bag will make the sub q treatments easier with less slip-outs..the fluids are of no use to Sasha if they don't get into him!

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Probably me LOL... I am a firm believer in cat bags... they are a life saver! I would be nothing without them! I use them everyday to give Bugsy his meds, and it is one thing I can NOT live without it!

Came back from the Vet's with the Cod flavored Lysine paste, a cat on Medi Cal food for convalescing cats (to try out, see if Sasha likes it) and an extra bag of Sub Q solution and needles (the first bag has maybe 3-4 treatments left).

Cod Flavored Lysine...hates it too. The reason Sasha managed to spit out his pills this morning is that the pill popper wasn't deep enough in his mouth and not aimed at his throat...I probably shot them towards the corner of his mouth which is why his spat and drooled out his appetite stimulant...

Anyway, he seemes to like the Medi Cal Convalescing formula but again...just liked the top of the food and munched on a few chunks and was about to leave the food there.

Another first for me: I force fed him with a clean syringe...he struggled and purred at the same time...after a few shots of food in his mouth he went at his food again and ate a bit more heartily...but not enough. A few more shots of food in his mouth and he gave the food dish another go. I was already late for work so I left the dish with him in the bedroom...hopefully he eats more of it through the rest of the after-noon.

Lots of for you and this brave kitty.

My Dante was on Baytril when he had a bladder inflamation. I was lucky - he tolerated it very well. It's just so disheartening when they can't eat as much as we'd like to see.

Originally Posted by darlili

Lots of for you and this brave kitty.

My Dante was on Baytril when he had a bladder inflamation. I was lucky - he tolerated it very well. It's just so disheartening when they can't eat as much as we'd like to see.

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He was curled up in my bed under the comforter before I left for work. I have this ritual of telling my cats "I'm off for work, be good, take care of yourself and the place; and if you see a bug; kill it but don't eat it"

I gently touched the comforter and I heard him growl in this high-pitched tone...I raised the comforter and said "Hey, it's me!" (Tiggy likes to bug Sasha when he goes under the comforter...thus I keep them separate while I go to work, otherwise Tiggy steals Sasha's food!)

I put the comforter back down and said "Rest well baby, and don't forget to eat some more while I'm at work..."

Sigh...can't wait for that Cat Bag to be delivered...thing is, Sasha was being nice and calm in bed...somehow after 3 tries the needle kept poking through and most of the solution was leaking out of poor Sasha and wetting his fur...

So in a bit of a panick (I confess) I called the Vet's Clinic and they recommended I bring him in so the Vet's assistant can show me again.

It truns out I was doing it right; the problem being that when a cat is dehydrated, the skin can get rather sticky and thin.

"When this happens; shut the valve off, gruff the cat and pull the skin away from the needle. You can even move the fur aside so you can have a better look at the 'needle hole' in his skin; and readjust the needle's position. Reopen the valve and repeat if necessary, but once the needle is no longer sticking to the skin and is 'under'; Sasha will get the full benefits of the Sub Q treatment."

She also showed me the proper procedure to give him the Lysine gel

"Just give it to him in 2 shots (of the syringe) making sure you aim close to (but not right into) his throat. He might drool some of it out, but he'll swallow some of it as well, which will help his immune system."

So I'll keep a thick towel handy until the cat bag is delivered. I may get some leakage, but at least I know now how to readjust the needle without pulling it all the way out.

The best part: the cost of this training session - free. Since she showed me how to admninster the fluids and Lysine I already bought; thtraining session was free of charge!

The staff at Renforth Veterinary Clinic are the best!

Woke up around 4:30 am...sasha barfed all over the comforter and night table...I think he tried to eat while I was asleep and well...didn't agree with him...changed the bed, took an Ativan so I can fall back to sleep, cleaned the night table...

Didn't think to look through his mess to see if he barfed his antibiotic (though I doubt it - I gave it to him around midnight) but I'm worried - he's already on Sub-Q due to dehydration; now he barfs his late night snack...(there was a lot of food in there, more than he ate in the past few days -maybe he overate?)

I'll phone the Vet (again!) and mention this vomiting episode...should I give him another Sub Q?

Called the Vet clinic...the Vet says I should give Sasha his Sub-Q's daily...but he only barfed the one time last night? Sigh...I'll ear-play it. If he barfs again tonight (perish the thought) then yes, I'll give him the Sub Q treatment again ... otherwise I'll stick to my plan of finishing the first bag with treatments every 48 hours and move on to twice a week...

How on earth am I supposed to plan a visit to the parents thought this? Sasha needs my attention 24/7 (I'm exaggerating) or so it seems...he ate a bit, took his antacid and I gave him an "emergency sub Q treatment" which went better than all previous ones I gave him; no leakage or slippage...

Forgot to ask the Vet whether or not we should change Sasha's antibiotic...this is the first vomiting session since starting the antibiotic 6 days ago...